Improvement in carriage-springs



H. SPRAGUE. Carriage-Springs.

Pa'tented May1`1,l875.

lllilllllllmm ummm lllllll HARVEY SPRAGUE, OF GHURGHVILLE, ASSIGNOR OFONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO WILLIAM S. BROWN, OF LE ROY, NEW YORK.

IMPROVEMENT IN CARRIAGE-SPRINGS.

Speciiication forming part of Letters Patent No. RSSLE H2, dated May 11,1875; application filed April 19, 1875.

To all whom 'it may concern:

vBe it known that I, HARVEY SPRAGUE, of Ohurchville, in the county ofMonroe and State of New York, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Oarriages and WVagons; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the constructionand operation ot1 the same, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of a wagon inverted or turnedbottom upward, and provided with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a perspectiveview of the reach and springs and connecting parts, right side up. Fig.3 is a cross-section of the bolster and front axle in line of the king-bolt.

. My improvement is of that class in which the front and rear axles areconnected by a spring-arch, and a rigid reach is avoided.

The invention consists in the arrangement of the side springs, reach,cross-strap, bodyloop, and braces; and also in the employment of acircle-plate of peculiar construct-ion, as hereinafter described.

A A represent the wheels. a a are the front and rear axles, and a2 isthe bolster. B is the wagon-body. rlhese parts are of ordinaryconstruction. C O are two side springs, pivoted at b b to clips on thetop or sides ot the rear axle and front bolster, and supporting thewagon-body by being attached to side blocks projecting` down from thewagon-body. They are made arched or convex, and may be composed ofseveral leaves, to give proper stiffness and strength. D is aspring-reach, ofthe same curvature as the side springs, and lyingcentrally between them. Its ends are slotted longitudinally, as shown ato c, andare attached on the under side ot' the front and rear axles bybolts or T-clips, which pass through the slots c c. The reach lies asmuch lower than the side springs as the distance between the endattachments of said parts. E is a central cross-strap, bolted fast atthe ends to the springs O G, and in the center to the reach D. In orderto meet the points ot' attachment it is made concave or curved, as shownin Fig. 2. G G are two rear braces, bolted fast to the center of thereach, and extending backward and outward in an angular direction, andbolted fast to the bottom of the rear axle near the ends, the two beingthus in the form of a V, as shown in Fig. l. In attaching the braces GGthe rear ends are first secured to the axle, and the front ends arethen sprung up to rest against the reach. By this means, when the weightis applied upon the springs todepress them, the braces will preventrolling or turning of the axle as they expand under depression to thesame degree that the springs and reach do, thereby balancing the axle. His a body-loop, bolted fast to the center of the reach, and curvedupward, and attached at the ends to the bottom of the wagon-bodylongitudinally. The wagon-body, therefore, has four attachments-viz., tothe ends of the body-loop longitudinally, and to the center ot the sidesprings transversely.

The object of the cross strap E, angular braces G G, and body-loop H, ascombined with the side springs and reach, is to give strength andposition to the wagon-body, and prevent tilting or depression out of thehorizontal line when preponderance of weight is applied at either side,or either end. When weight is applied on one side the thrusttransversely is taken by the cross-strap E and transferred across to theopposite angular brace G, and expended upon the farther end of the rearaxle, the cross-strap and brace, although not in a straight line,approximating suflciently thereto for this purpose, and the eft'ect inpreventing tipping or tilting being better than where the rear bracesare carried back longitudinally in line with the reach and springs, andat right angles to the cross-strap, as in other wagons of this class.The crossstrap and angular braces also prevent torsion of the reach. Solong as such torsion is prevented the wagon-body cannot sag on one sidemore than on the other. When undueweight is applied on one end or theother the longitudinal tipping is prevented, by reason of the attachmentot' the body to the springs and reach being in a central transverseline. The body-loop H in that case serves as a brace to carry the strainto the center only, and since there is no stiff connection between thefront and rear axles the wheels can spread longitudinally, and thesprings will depress equally 2 EGSJIQ throughout their whole length.There will be no appreciable tipping unless the weight is in excess ofthe capacity of the springs.

Another advantage of my invention consists ofthe arrangement whereby theaxle and bolster are prevented from rolling or turning as the springsare depressed. The two side springs being attached on top or at theside, and the reach and angular braces on the bottom, they expandequally when depressed, thereby balancing the axles. This effect isfurther produced by pivoting the ends ot' the springs, i11- stead ofattaching-them rigidly, which has been heretofore done, and in formingthe slots c c in the reach, so that no binding or strain can occur. Theeect of holding the axles balanced is further produced by the body-loopH, which prevents any end play or shucking ofthe wagon in one directionor the other by jerks.

I is the circle-plate, which is in the forni of a loop, and embraces thefront axle. rIhe end ofthe reach is attached to the loop by a rivet, j",in the rear of the king-bolt g. The kingbolt passes through the bolsterand axle in the usual manner, and also through the ends of thecircle-plate. The slot c in the end of the reach is of such size thatthe end of the reach cannot come in contact with the king-bolt at anytime.

When the draft is applied to the wagon the strain comes upon the upperend of the kingbolt and upon the rivet f, and not upon the end of thereach. By this means I obviate wear upon the end of the reach, and avoidthe necessity of making it thicker or stron ger than vthe body of thereach itself'.

The construction of the springs above described makes them very light,strong, and so elastic to break all shocks which occur by striking thewheels on obstructions.

Having thus described my invention, I do not claim, broadly, sidesprings, nor a springreach. Neither do I claim, broadly, connecting thefront and rear axles with a spring-arch without a rigid reach; but

What I claim as new is 1. The combination of the side springs G C,spring-reach D, cross-strap E, body-loop H, andthe angular braces GVG,extending from the center of the reach to the outer ends of the rearaxle, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the springs C G and spring-reach D, of thecross-strap E and the angular braces G G, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination ot' the pivoted side springs C C of the rear axle andbolster, the reach D, attached on the bottom of the axles, and thebody-loop I-I, fastened to center ot' the reach, to prevent longitudinalmotion thereof fromturnin g the axles, substantially as set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

HARVEY SPRAGUE.

Witnesses:

R. F. OsG-oon, E. B. SCOTT.

